NOVAVAX VACCINE

NOVAVAX VACCINE

Subject : Science & tech

Context : US-based Novavax on Friday announced a final efficacy figure of 96.4% for its vaccine against the original strain of the novel coronavirus, with an efficacy as high as 83.4% two weeks after the first shot itself, boosting the global fight against covid-19.

Concept :

• NVX-CoV2373 is a vaccine candidate engineered from the genetic sequence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19 disease.
• It was created using Novavax’ recombinant nanoparticle technology to generate antigen derived from the coronavirus spike (S) protein and contains Novavax’ patented saponin-based Matrix-M adjuvant to enhance the immune response and stimulate high levels of neutralizing antibodies
• Novavax was awarded $1.6 billion by the US government as part of Operation Warp Speed (OWS), a program to deliver millions of doses of a safe, effective vaccine for Covid-19 to the US population.
• The announcement of Novavax’s efficacy is significant in the fight against covid for India, where the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, Serum Institute of India, will be making 1 billion doses of the shot for domestic supply and export under its brand Covovax.